If fly fishing in summer or ice fishing in winter on a natural river are among your favourite pastimes, then the Naruskajoki and its tributaries offer one of the most versatile river fishing areas in Finland. The Naruskajoki is fed by the Ylä-Naruskajoki and several smaller rivers and streams that drain into Lake Naruskajärvi. From the lake, the Naruskajoki continues southward, close to the Naruska main road, all the way to the Tenniöjoki, which the Naruskajoki joins at the southern edge of Naruska village.
Along its entire fifty-kilometre length, the Naruskajoki is reasonably accessible. The long stretch encompasses a wide variety of water — from churning rapids to long, slow pools. Three bridges further enhance accessibility, making it easy to cross the river for bank fishing. Using a watercraft is also facilitated by the bridges, though there are of course numerous launch points where the river comes close to the main road.
The Naruskajoki can broadly be divided into three sections. The uppermost third, from Lake Naruskajärvi to the mouth of the Suoltijoki, alternates between pools and rapid sections. From the Suoltijoki–Naruskajoki junction, there are about twenty kilometres of almost pure pool water with only a few minor riffles. The lowest ten-kilometre section from Pikkusiekakönkäs to the Tenniöjoki junction consists of powerful rapids. This rapids section had a five-year winter ice-fishing ban from the Sieka bridge to the Tenniöjoki mouth starting in spring 2016, but the river is now again available for summer and winter fishing without restrictions. Permits must of course be in order for both summer and winter fishing.
The fish stock of the Naruskajoki is diverse. It naturally holds brown trout, grayling and whitefish. In addition to these salmonids, there are some perch and pike especially in the pool sections, but they are not the dominant species. The Ylikemi Fishing Area, which sells a comprehensive fishing permit for the Naruskajoki and a large area west of Naruska, stocks the river with catchable or juvenile trout in alternate years. Juvenile fish of all the salmonid species mentioned are also stocked occasionally. In recent summers, the Naruskajoki has been electrofished for trout juvenile production. The results are even flattering, as trout productivity is among the highest in all of Lapland.
The minimum size for grayling here is exceptionally 35 cm and for trout 50 cm.
Since restoration in the early 1990s, the Naruskajoki has had the rocks that were once cleared for floating returned to the river. This measure has improved the natural reproduction of fish. Excellent fishing spots have been created in the rapids. Wading fly fishermen should be aware of several larger moveable boulders that were left as "tipping stones" during the restoration. Care must be taken when wading both for this reason and because the currents in the Naruskajoki, especially at higher water levels, are powerful.
As a rule, the northern part of Salla could be described as lake-poor — at least compared to, for example, Kemijärvi or Kuusamo. The most important lakes in northern Salla are Saukkojärvi, Sätsijärvi, Haltiajärvi, Naruskajärvi and Purkajärvi. Of these, Sätsijärvi lies in the border zone with half of it on the Russian side.
Saukkojärvi is a famous whitefish lake, where ice anglers fish for whitefish with a jig on the first and last ice of late autumn and late spring. In good feeding conditions, an angler who knows what they're doing can catch a shopping bag full. Haltiajärvi is also good whitefish water. Both lakes also hold perch.
Purkajärvi's dominant fish is perch, but it also has whitefish and trout. The lake yields fish for anglers both in summer and winter. Saukkojärvi, Haltiajärvi and Purkajärvi are all located in the Salla Community Forest area. These lakes currently have free fishing rights for hook-and-line and ice fishing, so no separate permit is required for those methods. Naruskajärvi is managed by its own fishing cooperative, which sells permits there.